This chapter is dedicated to the DWOCD (even though Danny is absent for now!). You've been so encouraging and I appreciate every one of you. And yes, I squeezed 500 words in before breakfast.
Grace wanted so much to sleep. Her whole body still vibrated though. From what she'd seen. What she'd done. Climbing out of the blowhole made her feel like Superwoman. The other stuff, well, she'd rather forget it all.
Before she crashed safe in her bed, though, she had to find her Uncle Steve. Hug him. Make sure he was real, alive. Because she couldn't hug her dad. Not yet. He was in surgery. She'd been reassured he would be fine. But she didn't know what to believe anymore. She'd been snatched from school by someone who was supposed to protect her. They'd all been deceived. Tricked by two very sick women.
Uncle Steve was the only person she could talk to right then who understood the turmoil raging inside her. He'd been there. She was alive because of him. She needed to thank him. To ask him what to do next. How to deal with what she felt.
Grace went back and forth between feeling guilty and thanking her lucky stars. Mostly though she was exhausted. The adrenaline was draining away with each step as she followed her mother down the maze of hallways. She'd been poked and prodded enough for her lifetime. No one believed her when she said she was fine. She'd gotten more scratches and bruises from cheer practice.
When they pushed through the heavy door that opened into the lobby and waiting area of the hospital, she froze.
"Grace, dear, are you alright?"
She didn't answer her mother. Eyes wide, mouth open, Grace was mute. All she saw was Steve on the gurney, one arm hanging limp, his eyes at an eerie half mast. There were too many people doing things she didn't understand, didn't want to see. Commands were being yelled as hospital personnel rushed to administer aid. His shirt had been cut open, exposing a bloody mess.
Her brain just couldn't process it.
All of the horror she'd witnessed that day had come down to this. And she'd reached her breaking point.
"Uncle Steve!" She broke free from her mother's arms and sprinted ten feet, stopping the staff in their tracks with her hysterical demands. "What's wrong with Uncle Steve? What are you doing? Please I need to talk to him."
"Grace, wait." Kono tried to grab Grace before she reached the doctor and nurses tending Steve, but she wasn't fast enough.
Trembling, the frantic teen pushed her way as close as she could get. "What's happening? Is he okay?"
"Please, young lady. Step back." An exasperated PA struggled to keep his calm. Steve began responding to stimuli and fighting their every move. Even in his sorry state, he was a force to be reckoned with.
"Easy, Steve. Let them help you. Come on." Lou struggled to soothe his friend. He kept one eye on Steve and the other on Grace. Sure that her outburst was not helping. "Grace is alright. She's just scared. She's safe."
"Would someone please restrain the child." An exasperated nurse growled. Grace was too close and in the way, compromising what they were doing.
"It's okay, Grace. Steve is in good hands." Chin wrapped his arms around her.
"Will he be okay?" She fought him, and with a swift elbow to his ribs, she broke free, whirling around to face the group gathered around Steve. "Did he tell you she shot him?"
Everyone stopped.
Kono was the closest, and she grabbed Grace, giving her a light shake. "Who shot him, Grace?"
"Before he fell into the blowhole. The woman who picked me up from school. My new counselor." She shook off her well meaning Auntie and studied them all for a few seconds, catching her breath. "He didn't tell you?"
Chin turned her around, moving her toward the nearest seat. "Okay, slow down, Grace. Tell us what happened."
Kono and Lou leaned in to listen, all the while keeping an eye on their fallen leader.
Rachel sat beside her daughter and grabbed her hand.
"Uncle Steve fought the other lady. The dark haired one. They broke the railing and fell over the edge. He hurt his arm when he landed on her. I think she's dead." There was an audible gasp at the plainness of her words. She didn't seem affected at all. "Then the one named Dr. Gray shot him before she made him jump into the hole after Daddy. He said he was fine."
"Okay, Grace, that's good. You're very brave." Chin tried to pat her arm but she jerked away.
"But he said he was fine! He should be okay now." She sobbed, repeating herself. "He said he was fine."
"It's okay, Grace." Rachel pulled Grace toward her, stroking her hair. And for the moment she let her mother soothe her. Everyone took a breath.
Lou shook his head in disbelief. This was one solid mess. "Did you catch any of that, doc?"
"Yes, thank you. Might prove helpful. Thank you, Grace. You did a good job."
Without warning, Grace leapt out of the chair. "No, this isn't right! I need to be with him. I can't leave him. He saved me."
Arms wrapped around herself, Grace rocked where she stood, digging her fingernails so hard into her skin that she drew blood.
Rachel's face, fresh with this new horror, went white with shock at her daughter's behavior. "Grace, dear, please come here. It'll be alright."
Grace whirled around, arms up defensively like she might punch somebody. "Don't say that. You don't know for sure."
Worried glances all around searched the staff for assistance. One nurse caught what was happening and rushed to their aid.
"Honey, could you look at me?"
Still trying to catch a glimpse of Steve as he was whisked through the swinging doors into the trauma area, Grace saw through everything else.
"No, no no no." She muttered but didn't move. Tears streamed down her face and now her whole body shook. "He can't leave me."
"Grace, please, listen to your mummy. Come and sit down. We'll wait right here, okay?" Rachel patted the seat.
The nurse shot a colleague a glance that conveyed the gravity of the situation before softening as she addressed Rachel. "You're her mother?"
Rachel nodded.
"Grace needs some...help. Will you let me help her?"
"Yes, please, but - wait. What are you doing? Please, she's already been through so much. I just want to take her home."
"Ma'am," The nurse made eye contact with Rachel and held it. "Please, ma'am, let us help your daughter. Before she hurts herself. I promise we'll take good care of her. Okay?"
Rachel just sat here, mouth open like she was about to answer but the words were stuck.
"Ma'am, please. We need to move. Your daughter needs our assistance. She could go into shock."
"Okay." Rachel agreed, looking lost. Her eyes darted from Grace to the nurse. She moved to comfort her daughter, but her balance was sketchy.
Chin grabbed her before she toppled over. "I've got you. It'll be alright. Let them help."
The pair stepped out of the way.
The nurse slowly approached Grace. "Honey, can you hear me? Grace? My name is Alia."
The staff surrounded her like she was a wild animal, ready to bolt at any second.
Alia kept her tone light and movements deliberate. "You can see your uncle once we take care of you, okay? First, you and I need to chat, okay?"
The words finally registered.
"Me?" Grace blinked and then frowned. "I'm fine. Yea, I'm okay. I need to see my Dad and Uncle Steve."
"Yes, honey. You should sit down. Just for a sec. I heard you've had a busy day."
Grace nodded. "Uncle Steve, I need to see him. He saved me."
The second staffer pulled Rachel to the side. "I can give her a sedative. Is she allergic to anything?"
"No, nothing that I know of." Rachel leaned heavily against Chin.
Someone appeared with a wheelchair, and Grace was guided into it.
"Wait, where are we going?" Her voice rose, weak as it was. "I need to see Uncle Steve. And Daddy. Are they okay? Mommy, please. I can't - I need to see them."
Chin guided Rachel to her daughter while Lou held on to Kono as they watched, transfixed. Beyond worried.
"You will, dear. Please do what these nice people say." Rachel bent down and stroked her daughter's hair. "I am so thankful you're alright."
Grace struggled against the orderly. "But the lady. She's here. I saw her. She's not dead!"